Thursday, February 28, 2013

Winter Walk 2






Winter Walk 2

As those of you who have enjoyed walking on snowshoes already know, the trip back is a easier if you follow the same trail. In my case it was a LOT easier because it was all downhill as well. I took more photos on the way back because the sun wasn't in my eyes and I felt my tracks added to the images of a winter walk.

The open spaces in the photos on the top of the hills are actually bogs and small ponds. In summer the bogs are wet and soggy and I would have to walk around the ponds, and it would take longer to walk across them. Another advantage of walking up there in the winter is that there are no biting insects to bother me.

The weather forecast for the next few days is rain, drizzle and fog. This will take away a lot of the snow and add water to brooks, which will make it harder to snowshoe across them. I guess there won't be many more opportunities to snowshoe for a while.

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Winter Walk





Winter Walk

The sun was still fairly low in the sky as I continued my snowshoe hike toward the Inside Hawke Hills behind my house on the Salmonier Line in Holyrood. There was quite a bit of soft snow on the trails through the woods, but when I got to the top of the hills the snow was much harder and packed down. As well, the wind was much stronger which, because I was sweating a lot by the time I got there, made it feel very cold. I continued on for about 1/2 an hour, then turned around and started back towards my house.

I forgot to mention yesterday that on this hike, I took my Nikon P500 only. It is a lot lighter and I don't have to worry about changing lenses and carrying my camera bag. It is small enough to carry inside my coat and I don't have to worry about it getting wet and iced up. As I have explained several times in the last year and a half, I find it frustrating because the viewfinder isn't very good and it is difficult to judge what the images are going to be like until they are downloaded. As well, the view screen on the back is not much good in the bright light. However, when I downloaded the photos, I was happy with most of them.

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Animal Tracks in Winter





Animal Tracks in Winter

Sunday was a beautiful day here in Newfoundland and Labrador which prompted me to go on my first snowshoe hike of the year. Sunny skies, cool temperatures (around -2°C, approximately 28°F) and ideal snow conditions made the hike pleasurable. The numerous snowshoe hare tracks were interesting as were the fox tracks that always seemed to be near them. I did see a few coyote tracks further up in the hills, but they weren't fresh enough to photograph.

I always find it interesting to observe tracks left in the snow by the wildlife around here. In a few places I could see where snowshoe hares sat and munched on branches of larch trees and I have included a couple of images. According the the number of tracks all along my three hour hike, snowshoe hare seem to be abundant this year.

There were fewer fox tracks, but that is to be expected. Over the years I've seen a few red foxes during my walks in the woods, but most run away as soon as they see me. On July 31, 2008, I shared images and a short description of a fox that seemed to be fairly tame and approached me on the trail. You can check the photos and description on my Blog at: http://kbrucelane.blogspot.ca/2008/07/red-fox.html

Today I am reverting to the regular format of my Photo of the Day. I will share three photos in the email version and upload 5 (sometimes a few more) to my Photo of the Day Blog. I am dropping the Newfoundland and Labrador Link of the Day.

If any of you haven't LIKED my Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/KBruceLanePhotography feel free to visit and LIKE ... there I upload a variety of images that are different than those I share on my Photo of the Day and will be starting a special offer in the next couple of days.

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Monday, February 25, 2013

Grandeur of the Seas



























Grandeur of the Seas

Our second cruise ship was aboard the Grandeur of the Seas which is nearly half the size of the Liberty of the Seas, at least it carries half the number of passengers. The Grandeur had only been out of a complete refit for a couple of months when we boarded, so it was like travelling on a brand new ship.

We wondered if we would be bored after travelling on a much larger ship, however, we had no time to be bored. With only one "at sea" day on our 10 day cruise, we were busy every day and needed to relax before ending the cruise and heading back home.

There was lots of art on the Grandeur and I have uploaded some of it to my Blog this morning along with more images of the ship.

Newfoundland and Labrador
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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Liberty of the Seas





























Liberty of the Seas

When our cruise ship was "at sea" during the day, many people took advantage of the beautiful weather and one of the three adult pools or the children's water park. Others relaxed in the sun while working on their tans. A few walked around the walking/running track, though most serious runners and walkers used it in the early part of the day when there were fewer people around.

The FlowRider was popular with people of all ages and though I photographed quite a few people trying to stand on the small surfboards, most of them fell and were washed back to the starting point by the force of the moving water. For those interested, there was an ice-skating rink, rock climbing wall, mini-golf, a 3D theatre, and shopping on the Royal Promenade.

I've uploaded a selection of photos to my Blog that will give you an idea of some of the art, restaurants, shops and things to do aboard the Liberty of the Seas.


Newfoundland and Labrador
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Tulips

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